Med students lobby for New Yorkers' health

Medical students lobby lawmakers to advance health care proposals

Published 9:04 pm, Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Doctors must advocate for their patients' health — with supervisors who approve procedures, for instance, or insurance companies that pay for services.

On Tuesday, dozens of doctors-to-be tried different advocacy skills — lobbying state lawmakers to advance proposals they believe will improve New Yorkers' health.

"If we are not going to fight for our patients, who will?" Albany Medical College student Xin Guan asked a few dozen young adults in white coats who had stopped in the basement of the Legislative Office Building for coffee, bagels and a press briefing between their morning and afternoon visits to lawmakers.

Albany Medical Center students, from left, Phyllis Ying, Xin Guan and Ajay Major speak during a news conference at the Legislative Office Building during Medical Student Advocacy Day at the Capitol Tuesday Jan. 28, 2014, in Albany, NY.(John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union) less

Albany Medical Center students, from left, Phyllis Ying, Xin Guan and Ajay Major speak during a news conference at the Legislative Office Building during Medical Student Advocacy Day at the Capitol Tuesday Jan. ... more

White-coated medical students crowed the halls of the Legislative Office Building during Medical Student Advocacy Day at the Capitol Tuesday Jan. 28, 2014, in Albany, NY.(John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union)

White-coated medical students crowed the halls of the Legislative Office Building during Medical Student Advocacy Day at the Capitol Tuesday Jan. 28, 2014, in Albany, NY.(John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union)

Guan, Major and Ying had prepped them with some activist training before the event. Lobbying representatives was a new activity for about half the students, they said.

While the group shared a concern for health issues, they spoke with legislators about proposals that interested them as individuals. Small groups organized around a few popular issues, including bills to provide universal health coverage for all New Yorkers, allow marijuana for medical use, and prohibit doctors from participating in the torture and improper treatment of prisoners.

Anti-hunger advocate Mark Dunlea gave the students a pep talk before they headed back out to meet their afternoon slate of legislators. Dunlea's group, Hunger Action Network of New York State, works with a coalition of organizations that provide aid to low-income people who struggle with the costs of health care.

He told the students that their future profession would carry some weight with legislators. And he reminded them that legislators are public servants.